Geoffrey joined the Department of
Brain Repair and Rehabilitation at the UCL Institute of Neurology in 2005 where
he established a dedicated Spinal Repair Unit at Queen Square. Previously (1974 to 2004), Geoffrey was the
Head of the Division of Neurobiology at the MRC National Institute for Medical
Research in Mill Hill.

Geoffrey was a pioneer in his field,
developing new approaches to improving recovery from spinal injury. His ground-breaking work has been recognised
by election as Fellow of the Royal Society (2001) and to the Academy of Medical
Sciences (1999). Geoffrey was also a
Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (2002).

Geoffrey received numerous prizes and awards,
including the Wakeman Award for Research in Neurosciences (1980), the British
Neuroscience Association Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Neuroscience
(2004), and the Reeve-Irvine Medal (2005) for critical contributions to
promoting repair of the damaged spinal cord and recovery of function. His team
discovered that olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) can help guide regeneration
of nerve fibres. Together with Professor
Ying Li and Dr Daqing Li, the team has shown that transplantation of these
cells into spinal cord injuries in laboratory models results in regeneration of
severed nerve fibres and restoration of function. The team is now working on the
practical steps needed to apply this approach to spinal cord and optic nerve
injury.

Geoffrey was an inspiration to the
many colleagues and students that he worked with. He was a truly exceptional
and gifted person and his death represents a major loss to the neural
regeneration research field and to UCL.

Our thoughts are with his wife and
family.

"Geoffrey Raisman was a true
pioneer of spinal cord injury science and a world leader in this area. He was
deeply committed to translating his science to benefit patients. He leaves a
lasting research legacy and a very active group continuing his work. We were
all very proud to have him as a colleague at UCL and at the Institute of Neurology;
he will be greatly missed." Professor Michael Hanna, Director of
the UCL Institute of Neurology.